Mamasa refugees return home

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

South Sulawesi Police arrested two more suspects on Sunday accused of provoking attacks that killed at least three people in Mamasa regency, West Sulawesi, as some 1,500 refugees returned home.

The two, identified as Naris, 39, and Usman, 24, bring the number of suspects to 15 and all of them were flown by helicopter to Pare-pare, South Sulawesi, for further questioning, the police said.

Meanwhile, more refugees who fled their riot-torn villages in Aralle district two weeks ago to the neighboring district of Mambi, Mamasa, were transported home in police trucks on Sunday, as peace was increasingly restored there.

They were tightly escorted by dozens of police officers until they arrived at their homes.

The refugees were those opposed to a 2002 law requiring Aralle and two other Muslim-mainly districts of Mambi and Tabulahan to join Mamasa, a predominantly Christian regency in the newly created province of West Sulawesi.

They fled after being attacked by their opponents, mostly Christians who support the law that splits Polewali Mamasa (Polmas) into two regencies -- Polmas and Mamasa.

As the refugees arrived home, wives of local civil servants provided them with aid such as food and clothing.

Pare-pare Police chief Sr. Comr. Halba Nugroho said he had stationed 20 officers in each of the eight villages where residents were opposed to the Polmas' split.

Security was tightened particularly in border areas of rival groups by police and soldiers, he added.

Mambi district head Ahmad Appa said on Sunday that some of the returning refugees have started farming again.

"Since the last four days, the security situation has increasingly improved, although fears of possible further violence remain high among the villagers.

"But the presence of police and soldiers there make them feel calm, and today some of them have returned to their farms," he said.

The Mamasa conflict has simmered for over two years, since the enactment of Law No. 11/2002 by the central government.

The South Sulawesi administration had proposed that Aralle, Mambi and Tabulahan remain part of Polmas regency. But it was unclear why the law included them as part of Mamasa.

The protests by the Muslim community in the three districts were ignored by the central government, leading to clashes in September last year between those in support of the split and others against it. Three people were killed at that time and another three two weeks ago, when the violence continued.

Meanwhile, Azis Kahar, a member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from South Sulawesi, who visited the violence-ridden villages, said on Sunday the conflict was not linked to religion.

To resolve the problem, the authorities should involve traditional leaders in efforts to reconcile the warring groups, he added.

"The urgent measure that can be taken for the short term is to reconcile them in a traditional way because basically those in support of and against the split belong to one family," Aziz said without elaborating.

He also said the enactment of the law was flawed, as it ignored the aspirations of community leaders and councilors in Polmas.